Rum Eggnog

I didn't consider myself an eggnog fan for most of my life. My main issues with commercial eggnog is that they are too thick and too sweet. Last year, I started experimenting with mixing rum into store-bought eggnog, which I found to be a real improvement. The next step, of course, was to make my own from scratch. My first batch had a few issues, which I solved for this year's attempt. It came out well, and I made four jars to give as Christmas presents. This strong and spicy eggnog is very different from your average supermarket carton. It's also easy to make and adjust to your own tastes.

Eggnog is a very old drink (George Washington was reportedly a fan) and there are already a lot of recipes out there. As I typically do, I researched quite a few and created my own tailored to my own taste. I find the toasted brown sugar notes in Demerara rum work well in dessert-oriented cocktails. I like El Dorado, but Pusser's is similar and comes from the same distillery. A funky Jamaican rum and spicy allspice dram round it out. The end result has a similar alcohol content to a typical wine. Freshly grated nutmeg is a huge upgrade (for your painkillers as well), and I will never go back to ground nutmeg for cocktails. The sugar is easily adjustable. I originally started at 3 oz. but brought it up to 4 oz. for the final version.

As with anything else, there is some small risk in using raw eggs, which can be mitigated by letting the eggs sit with just the liquor before adding the dairy and sugar. According to some articles I found, the alcohol is sufficient to kill any bacteria within two weeks. That said, the risk is minor and I consume raw eggs in other things somewhat regularly. Don't be tempted to skip the blender here. As I learned in my first attempt, stringy egg white is not a pleasant texture to encounter in eggnog. 

Ground Beef Rice Bowls

Several months ago, we tried a few different meal kit delivery services. We eventually decided they weren't a great fit for us, but I did get some ideas from them. One we really liked (from EveryPlate), was one they called "beef banh mi bowls," I guess so named for the cucumber and carrots often found in the famous sandwich. For me, they call to mind the rice bowl dishes often found in Vietnamese restaurants. I like how they combine a hot entrée with a salad all in one. This recipe is my own spin on the concept, loosely based on the meal kit.

The recipe here is pretty loose, and you can work with what's on hand. The beef could be swapped out for grilled chicken or pork. The crispy fresh vegetables provide a nice contrast with the meat and rice. Radishes could also be a good option. You could even go nuts and add a fried egg. I also like to drizzle some Japanese mayo on dishes like this. I certainly won't make any claims about Vietnamese authenticity here, but these rice bowls are worth a try. They're quick and easy and more than the sum of their parts.

Chicken Stock

October always seems to be an especially busy time in the world of academia, and I haven't had a lot of time to do much innovating in the kitchen. In times like these, I usually fall back on easy standbys like braised chicken or pan-fried salmon. Another reliable easy meal: the good old Sam's Club rotisserie chicken. Only $5 provides a few days worth of meals. We usually have a few pieces of it for dinner, then make the rest into chicken salad. It's a good deal even if the carcass goes in the garbage, but why not use that, too?

Chicken stock is probably one of the most frequently appearing ingredients on this blog. I use it all the time. I always keep a few cartons of Swanson's on hand, but when I can, I make my own. There are few things easier to make: just toss some chicken and vegetables into a pot, heat, and walk away for a while. The rotisserie chicken works perfectly, but you can also keep bones and wing tips in the freezer to make into stock. For the vegetables, I used the classic onion, carrot, and celery combination, but it's flexible. Scallion and ginger could also be used for the Chinese version, similar to the shrimp stock I've posted before. Stock freezes well. I often use 16-oz. takeout containers.

Breaking the Fast with Creamy Scrambled Eggs

Today was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement and fasting. The fast is typically broken with a simple meal that varies by tradition. In the United States, bagels and lox are a classic. While we often make our own lox, we used smoked Alaskan salmon today. To finish out the meal, I also prepared scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs are so simple, they barely need a recipe, but on the other hand, there are a lot of bad scrambled eggs out there. The creamy style of scrambled eggs go perfectly with any kind of bread, bagels included.

Oddly enough, my first exposure to creamy scrambled eggs was through James Bond. In the novels, scrambled eggs are Bond's favorite food, and he ate them many times throughout the series, usually with black coffee. Ian Fleming even included a recipe in one of his short stories. Fleming uses an immense 5-6 ounces of butter for 12 eggs and recommends serving with "pink champagne and low music." I don't go that far, but these eggs are still plenty luxurious. The key to good scrambled eggs is low heat and constant stirring, basically the opposite of making an omelet. Be patient and don't be tempted to raise the heat too much. Good things come to those who wait, a good sentiment for Yom Kippur, I think.

Upgrade: Mapo Doufu (麻婆豆腐)

I first made mapo doufu seven years ago, the first of my many adaptations from Peimei's Chinese Cook Book. Although I love the dish, Ariel did not, and stopped making it for years. Recently, I've reexamined the recipe and come to the conclusion that it needed an upgrade. My new version offers plenty of savory sauce, a well-balanced spice level, and delicious silken tofu, while not being overly oily. I'm pleased to say this one won her over. It helped to leave the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper on the side and allow individuals to sprinkle it on their own portions. I enjoy it, but not everyone is a fan!

The tofu is the centerpiece of the dish. Peimei recommended deep frying the tofu before adding to the sauce. Not only do I find this completely unnecessary, I think it's wrong. No mapo doufu I've ever had involves that. In my old version, I stir fried it, but I don't do that now. The tofu can remain soft and simply warm up in the sauce. Since I'm not frying it, a firm tofu is also not needed. Instead, I recommend soft silken tofu. It will break up a bit, but that's fine. Silken tofu usually comes in a carton instead of a plastic tub and can typically be found at Asian markets.

Another major change here was increasing the amount of sauce. I like lots of sauce to serve over rice. To balance the spice level, I mix the Sichuan-style hot bean paste (doubanjiang) with Koon Chun bean sauce. This is not traditional, but keeps it balanced. If you like it spicier, feel free to shift the balance towards more doubanjiang. I used the chunky version of the Koon Chun sauce, rather than the ground one. The final major upgrade is the stock. I used my homemade pork stock, made by simmering two pork shoulder blades with ginger and scallion for a few hours. The stock is unsalted; using a salted stock could result in the sauce getting too salty.

Upgrade: Croque Madame

Bonne fête! It's Bastille Day again, and this time, its one of my all-time favorites, the croque madame. Over nine years ago, I wrote about the croque monsieur, the classic French ham and cheese sandwich. I go back to that recipe from time to time, and I think it's one of my best from the very earliest period of No Free Lunch. A croque madame is simply a croque monsieur with a fried egg on top, an upgrade in and of itself. My other reason for revisiting the recipe is to improve on the crunchiness by toasting the bread ahead of time. It's definitely worth the effort!

This is my first post to feature our new convection oven. This enabled me to toast the bread, bake the sandwiches, then broil them all in one device. I'm still experimenting with it, and I expect it will pop up here from time to time. Of course, the whole recipe can certainly be done in a toaster and/or regular oven.

At their core, both a croque monsieur and croque madame are ham and cheese sandwiches, so using good quality ham, cheese, and bread is important. I used Gruyère here, which packs a ton of flavor, but is expensive. It's great as an occasional treat, but feel free to substitute. I shaved the ham off a half boneless ham from Costco and the bread was a peasant loaf from Vermillion's own Mr. Smith's. As with so many things, a fried egg makes everything better. Just make sure to have a knife and fork for this one.

Grilled Octopus

As the main summer holiday in the United States, the Fourth of July is strongly associated with grilling, usually burgers and other such classics. Here at No Free Lunch, we would never be so boring, so of course we're doing a whole octopus. Besides, I have plenty of burger recipes already. This particular specimen had been in our freezer for a while, ever since Ariel brought it home from the Asian market. I admit I was a little intimidated. I've grilled and pan fried cooked octopus tentacles many times, but had never done a whole raw one until now. I read many articles and generally followed Mark Bittman's technique here. The general idea is to simmer in water until tender, and then grill to brown the outside.

The startling thing about octopus, if you've never worked with it, is how much it shrinks as it cooks. Mine came frozen in a block of ice, weighing in at 4 1/4 lb. Once thawed, it was down to about 3 1/2. It tightened up a lot while cooking, and by the time it was done it fit on the small plate in the picture. I didn't weigh it, but I'm guessing it was maybe a pound at the end. After initial cooking, the octopus curled up. While it is probably possible to grill like this, I cut it up to get better contact with the grill. Once done, I season with olive oil, lemon, and herbs. There's room for variation, but lots of lemon for acidity is essential.

When grilling a main dish like this, I like to prepare a side on the grill, too, so I can keep an eye on both. Asparagus is one of my favorites. I toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. The asparagus should take about the same amount of time as the octopus. Keep them moving to avoid burning. On a hot day like this, don't forget to mix up a daiquiri before you head to the grill!

Vermillion Summer (Campari, Rum, and Grapefruit Cocktail)

About a year after diving headfirst into mixing drinks, I'm excited to present my first original cocktail. This drink is all about the marriage of two distinctive spirits: Campari and Wray & Nephew rum. The first version didn't have the Campari. It was okay, but I immediately thought about how well Campari pairs with grapefruit and this cocktail was born. It's a perfectly refreshing drink for the oppressive heat we've had this summer. For the color the Campari brings and the location of its inception, I call it the "Vermillion Summer." If you like Campari, rum, or grapefruit, I think you'll enjoy this one. 

Wray & Nephew white overproof rum is Jamaica's most popular spirit. If the only white rum you've had is the Puerto Rican style, this is a completely different animal. Pot distilled and unaged, it's a standard bearer for funky Jamaican rum. Wray & Nephew has a strong aroma of ripe bananas and at 63% alcohol, it packs a punch. For its distinctive flavor and high proof, it's best used in smaller quantities mixed with other spirits. That's where the Campari comes in. The bitter notes play well with the fruit flavors and the lower proof brings the total alcohol in line with that of a Tom Collins. 

The exact proportions can be played around with to preference. I used a red grapefruit, but if you have another kind, the sugar can be adjusted to match. Either regular white or demerara simple syrup should work fine. The Wray & Nephew could be replaced by another funky, high-strength Jamaican rum, but it is affordable and relatively accessible. 

Diced Chicken with Walnuts (桃仁雞丁)

To kick off the summer, we're taking on another recipe from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book. This one is adapted from one I found in the Southern China section of volume I. The Chinese name taoren jiding translates to "walnut diced chicken." Interestingly, this recipe bears a striking resemblance to what most Americans picture as Chinese food. American-Chinese cuisine evolved specifically from Cantonese cooking, and this dish is a clear predecessor. Some combination of meat, vegetables, and nuts stir fried together in a sauce is a formula that comes up again and again. Years ago, even I threw together a cashew chicken recipe that's not all that different to this. 

I made a few changes from Pei Mei's original. As with so many of her dishes, she deep fries the chicken. I decided to streamline the process by stir frying the chicken instead, avoiding the hassle of cleaning up so much oil. I might try it that way in the future. She also recommends using hot peppers, while I used bell peppers. Some or all of those can be substituted for something spicier if you so choose. I chose to not salt the sauce ahead of time. You can always add salt at the end if you want to, and I added a few pinches. It's also worth mentioning she approves of cashews a substitute for the walnuts. 

This dish came out well. In the past, I've typically minced ginger, but I liked the bursts of ginger here from the larger slices. I might put in a little more next time. The flavor profile is pretty classic. A little more sugar would likely tilt it in American-Chinese direction, if you're into that. There's also plenty of leeway in the choice of chicken. Pei Mei suggests either deboning an entire (small) chicken or using breasts. I used thighs here. I served with steamed rice to complete the meal.

"Matchos" with Shredded Chicken

Every Passover, we try to shake up the tired old menu a little. This has yielded some pretty great results in the past, with scotch eggs being the most enduring favorite. Last year, we tried making a "matzo pizza." It was okay, but with all the wet sauce on the matzos, it ended up a little too soft. That gave me the idea to try making matzo nachos, which I'm calling "matchos." The result was pretty delicious, and I'd recommend giving this a try for something a little different at the end of Passover.

The topping for the matchos is a shredded chicken similar to what we put in the kolaches back in December. For a Jewish twist, I sautéed in schmaltz (I made a big batch at the beginning of the week), but you can certainly use olive oil or vegetable oil. The sauce is thickened with potato starch to keep things "KFP." If you really want to go nuts, use some leftover brisket as the topping, but I went with a more traditionally nacho flavor profile. The matchos only use about half of the chicken. It freezes well, so it can be saved for tacos or regular nachos once Passover is done.

For the cheese, I used cheddar, but almost anything that melts well will work. I would probably use a little more next time, but this is what I had. We rounded out the topping with sour cream, guacamole, and diced onions, but those are all just suggestions. I made my own guacamole, but if you have some from the store and make the chicken ahead, the dish comes together pretty quickly. If nothing else, I'm inspired to make nachos with actual chips sometime soon.

Scotcheroos

My grandmother was famous for a wide variety of sweet treats, from cookies to bars to doughnuts. Scotcheroos were always one of my favorites. I consider them an upgrade of the standard Rice Krispie bar (her extra-buttery version of those is also a family classic), incorporating peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. They're a quintessential Midwestern "bar." Enjoy with a cup of black coffee after finishing your hotdish.

While I enjoyed them for years, I never knew anything about their origin or attempted to make them myself. I found this recipe in the same church cookbook as my meatloaf recipe from January. I did some cursory internet research and was surprised to find an amazing level of consistency across recipes. There is a little variance in the amount of chocolate and butterscotch, but for the most part, the recipe is unchanged. With a little more digging, I discovered the recipe appeared on the side of a Rice Krispies box in 1965, and the recipe has been passed around ever since. 

I haven't reinvented the recipe, but having now made them myself, I do have comments. The corn syrup/sugar mixture is extremely sticky, as it functions as the glue to turn the cereal into a cohesive bar. It's important to move quickly to get the cereal coated and into the dish before it solidifies. It was a little tricky to get into an even layer an into the corners. Avoid the temptation to press down too much as these are already quite dense.  The recipe I have doesn't mention this, but I would recommend buttering the dish to help get the bars out.

Jungle Bird

The Jungle Bird is a "modern" tiki drink, originating at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur in the 1970s, decades after the heyday of the tiki culture. It is unique in its use of Campari, an Italian apéritif with a striking red color. Campari's intense bitterness makes it a tricky ingredient which can overpower a cocktail if not used carefully. This is a perfect cocktail for Campari beginners, as the bitterness is present, but balanced out by the other ingredients. Today, it was a perfect way to celebrate the start of spring break on the porch. 

Although the original recipe apparently called for 4 ounces of pineapple juice (similar to a Painkiller), the typical recipe found many places online calls for just 1 1/2 ounces. My version is a modification of Martin Cate's recipe from Smuggler's Cove, which uses 2 ounces. Pineapple juice is an amazing ingredient in shaken cocktails, giving them a lovely froth on top without having to mess with an egg white. In contrast to citrus (fresh lime is required here), canned pineapple juice works just fine. Since Cate calls for a sweeter simple syrup than I typically use, I increased the amount a little. The bitterness of the Campari plays very well with the fruit juice and syrup in this cocktail. 

For the rum component, Cate and others call for a black rum. Gosling's Black Seal is probably the most commonly available. I decided to kick it up a notch by mixing in some fiery Smith & Cross for a little Jamaican funk. There's definitely a lot of latitude in rum choice. If you get 1 1/2 ounces of rum you like in the drink, you did it right. People tend to go nuts on the garnish on the Jungle Bird, but I kept it simple by dropping in a couple of amarena cherries. The red-orange color and froth make for a distinctive presentation all on their own.

Mushroom Nian Gao (香菇年糕)

Gong xi fa cai, everyone! I've already written some recipes for the Jewish New Year (see my Rosh Hashanah cocktail), so it's about time I tackle Chinese New Year, a day full of food traditions. Nian gao, or "year cake," is a popular Chinese New Year treat all over China. There are many regional versions, ranging from sweet to savory, but all made from sticky rice flour. The Shanghai style, which we call "tongue depressors" for their shape, are our family tradition. I first made this meatless version for our combined New Year/birthday celebration a year ago. Any meat could easily be added if you want to go that route. 

I've written about Shanghai nian gao twice before, and the differences highlight the evolution of my Chinese cooking. The original 2012 version was very simple, as much of my bachelor cooking was. Back then, I parboiled the rice cakes, which I now know to be unnecessary. By the 2015 version, I was experimenting with Koon Chun bean sauce and napa cabbage. I had recently discovered the method of salting and squeezing the napa to get the excess water out. I've since moved on from bean sauce as the base of a sauce (I still use it for the char siu marinade) and am now doing a classically Chinese combination of ginger, scallions, and soy sauce, lengthened with the mushroom water and thickened with corn starch. 

This recipe uses mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge brand). Although available at most Chinese stores, it's somewhat niche. If unavailable, regular dark soy sauce would work just fine. Comparing the photos here to my previous versions, you can see the effect of the dark soy sauce in coloring the rice cakes. We rounded out the meal with spring rolls out of the freezer. These fry excellently right from frozen with no problem. I did subsequently make some spring rolls using the 45-degree angle fold, and can report they fry much more evenly. 

Pork Shoulder Stew

Braising is one of the best ways to get great value out of inexpensive cuts of meat. Beef chuck and chicken leg quarters are great for this, but my favorite is the ever-versatile pork shoulder. I've gone a few different directions with this over the years, from a Mexican-style pulled pork to the Chinese hongshao style. This time, braised the pork in the classic French way, with a mirepoix base, white wine, mustard, and herbs. It's the kind of thing I imagine might be eaten in the French countryside, but given I haven't actually been there, I'm probably just blowing smoke. "Authentic" or not, this dish was very easy to put together, has phenomenal flavor, and is made completely from basic, staple ingredients.

I broke down the pork shoulder (a Boston butt from Sam's Club) in my usual way, ending up with a bit of fat saved, four pounds of strips for char siu, and the two pounds of pork chunks and bone for this recipe. I usually save the bones to make pork stock, but since I just made some a few days ago, I decided to throw the bone into the stew. The bone typically has some extra meat on it, which I never let go to waste. This also helps to infuse the braising liquid with even more flavor.

The recipe itself is pretty loose, and I'm confident there are many variations that would work. I had a very large onion (about a pound) and carrots and celery adding up to about 10 ounces, but use what's available. From this base recipe, one could easily add some smoked meats, like bacon or sausage. More vegetables, such as tomato or cabbage, would be interesting additions. I always like some kind of starch with a stew. We had mashed potatoes, but crusty bread, egg noodles, rice, or just boiled potatoes would all do nicely. Whatever the choices, a hearty stew like this is a perfect dinner for a chilly February. 

Birthday Special 2021 and 2020 in Review

Another year means another birthday cake! For this year's cake, I made Molly Yeh's sprinkle cake, which is meant to be a homemade version of the classic "funfetti" boxed cake. For the decoration, I continued with the sprinkle theme for a simple design. Overall, the cake came out well, but cake baking continues to be stressful for me in a way regular cooking has never been. I have resolved to make more cakes throughout the year to get some more practice in. Happy birthday Ariel, and may that be an ongoing gift to you.

For dinner, I made pan-roasted lamb chops with a quick pan sauce. We had roasted butternut squash and rice on the side. Although it was a delicious meal, we look forward being able to celebrate with others next year. In last year's birthday post, I mentioned my hope that it would be the first of many big dinners around our table. Of course, 2020 had other plans and that hasn't happened yet. 

I'll take the rest of this post to look back at 2020 and take stock of what was surely one of the strangest years of my lifetime.

Shrimp Noodle Bowls

About a year on from the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei, our lives continue to be dominated by the pandemic. Ariel and I have maintained our own safety protocols, which include contactless pickup of groceries about every two weeks. It's important as ever to plan for meals which lack the freshest of produce. The noodle bowls in today's post were a recent invention of mine, intended as an easy lunch that uses up odds and ends with a long shelf life. When Ariel asked me to make them again, I knew it was time for a blog post!

The noodles I used here are thin rice noodles called Xinzhu mifen (新竹米粉), which originate in the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu. I have only used these in one other recipe (minced pigeon), where they are just a fried topping and not the main event. Being so thin, they don't need to be parboiled and only need to soak for a few minutes to be ready to eat. All the vegetables I used have a long shelf life, and the shrimp can be defrosted just before cooking. This is the kind of dish with infinite variations depending on what is on hand. Scallions are a nice addition if available, but don't hold up quite as well as carrots and regular onions. The runny egg on top was Ariel's idea. While I have labeled it "optional," it's a great addition which pulls the whole thing together. This recipe makes enough for two bowls.

Meatloaf

Community and church cookbooks are remarkable historical artifacts to those interested in the evolution of food and the preservation of our culinary heritage. As far as No Free Lunch is concerned, such books were instrumental in recreating party salad and klub. My grandmother, Irene Storey, was a pillar of her Twin Cities church and contributed numerous recipes to their cookbook. One of these was meatloaf. While it's not a dish I particularly remember her making, we had meatloaf somewhat regularly when I was a kid, and it was also in regular rotation at the business school cafeteria at Carnegie Mellon. It's safe to say it's a comfort food for many people all over the United States.

As a true American classic, there is tremendous variation in meatloaf recipes. For my version, I wanted to stay true to the structure of the fairly basic church version while incorporating ideas from more modern recipes. I consulted my usual group of online sources, including Kenji, Alton Brown, Adam Ragusea, and Elise Bauer. Typical meatloaf recipes do have a lot in common: about 2 pounds of meat, some kind of vegetables, and texture modifiers including eggs, breadcrumbs, and milk. Ketchup-based toppings are also a frequent addition. The unique features of this recipe, retained from the church cookbook, are the Worcestershire sauce and an additional egg not present in most I've seen. The main change I made is adding more vegetables and cooking them before folding into the meat. The classic meat blend consists of beef, pork, and veal, similar to a traditional meatball. As veal is hard to find these days, I did a 50/50 blend of beef and pork, which is also what I use for hotdish. There's a lot of room for experimentation with different meat blends. 

The cooking method also varies quite a bit from recipe to recipe. Adam Ragusea hand-forms the loaf. Elise Bauer bakes it in a loaf pan. Alton Brown uses the loaf pan to form the meatloaf, but flips it out for cooking. Kenji cooks it in the loaf pan for a while, then flips it out to finish. As the church cookbook is silent on this issue, I went with Alton's method. This allows us to get a nicely formed loaf while also maximizing surface area on which to spread the ketchup topping. I used a 9x5 inch silicone loaf pan (I think we got it at Aldi), and the meatloaf came out easily. A slightly smaller pan would also work fine, yielding a taller loaf. 

Since I had 4 pounds of meat, I made two meatloaves. I froze most of it after slicing, in preparation for busier times once classes start. The recipe given here is for one loaf, but the pictures show the doubled recipe. I made one with bacon on top and one without. The bacon adds some smokiness, but is definitely not necessary and makes the loaf a little tricky to cut. The end result of both was a tender, juicy meatloaf full of flavor. The only thing I would do differently is to put on more of the ketchup topping. There's also plenty of room for experimentation with different seasonings beyond this classic version. Mashed potatoes make a perfect accompaniment, which can be easily done on the stove while the meatloaf is in the oven.